Applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of Great Britain Application No. 9928651.0, filed: Dec. 6, 1999. Applicants also claim priority under 35 U.S.C xc2xa7120 of PCT/CA00/01383, filed: Nov. 21, 2000. The international application under PCT article 21 (2) was published in English.
The present invention relates to the field of compact discs and is particularly concerned with a case for storing a compact disc having a built-in pop-up cover.
Compact discs (hereinafter called Cds) are recording media from which recorded information can be read out by means of a laser beam. By virtue of the extremely high density and fidelity of the recorded information therein, compact discs are becoming increasingly popular.
Typical compact discs have a flat disc-shaped body provided with a central aperture which facilitates the exact mounting on a read-out instrument such as a compact disc player.
While the CDs are relatively rugged and forgiving of minor scratches, dust and debris, they still must be stored and given protection. Indeed, scratches that sufficiently scatter the laser beam can block reading of the encoded information. A disc protective container also serves for the display of a label that attracts the buyer and informs the user of the disc.
Accordingly, when not in use, the compact discs are usually kept in compact disc carrying cases. These laser discs carrying cases commonly comprise a cover shell hinged to a base shell and locked by lock means. A tray is typically provided within the base shell for receiving and holding the disc. The tray may have a central engagement means for holding the center aperture of the CD. Commonly, those engagement means are rosettes typically made up of a series of tines raised in a circle and radially extending inward towards a center pushing area.
One of the major drawbacks associated with such conventional CD carrier is the difficulty with which the cover shell is pivoted from the base shell in an open position. Indeed, because the cover and base shell are typically formed of clear polystyrene, it is difficult to distinguish them. Consequently, it is not uncommon for the user, in attempting to grasp the base shell with one hand, to mistakenly place the thumb and fingers of that hand on the cover side walls, thinking them to be part of the platform, while correctly placing the fingers of the other hand on the platform back wall and lifting, with the thumb of that hand, the cover front border. Since both hands are inadvertently holding the cover, the container cannot be opened.
The proper technique for opening most of the cases presently on the market is to place the fingers of both hands on the base shell back wall, the thumb of both hands on the base shell front wall, one of which lifts the cover front border. While this works relatively well, once one is experienced, the operation can prove to be difficult since it requires manual dexterity.
Prior attempts to provide CD carrying cases which are more easy and simple to open proved to be unsatisfactory as those prior art cases are of complex construction and expensive to manufacture. Examples of such prior art cases are described by way of examples, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,000,316; 5,213,209; 5,265,721; 5,346,074; 5,515,979; 5,526,926; 5,549,199.
Also known in prior art, there are the laid-open applications GB-9,517,521 and GB-9,6 11,747, both in the name of Courchesne, the inventor of the present invention, which disclose CD carrying cases having a built-in pop-up cover comprising essentially a push-button for releasably locking the cover of the case on the base shell and cooperating with a V-shaped leaf-spring mounted at the rear end of the case on a hinge component. In each of those documents, the leaf-spring has an arm abutting on the top wall of the cover and another arm abutting on the bottom wall of the base shell. One of the drawbacks with CD cases is that it is still too expensive to be economically feasable.
Another major drawback associated with conventional CD carrier is the presence, in the cover shell of a pair of legs hingely connecting the cover shell to the base shell. These legs are fragile and are often accidentally broken during the opening of the cover. As results, the CD carrier is no longer useful since the cover shell will not remain in the close position to protect the CD.
Therefore, there is still a need for an improved CD carrying case that is economically feasable, long lasting and easy to built and use.
An object of the present invention is to provide a case for storing a compact disc that satisfies these above-mentioned needs.
In accordance with the present invention, this object is achieved with a case for storing a compact disc characterized in that it comprises a box-like base shell formed of a planar bottom wall, two opposite side walls, a rear wall and a front wall. The base shell is adapted to receive the compact disc. The case also comprises a cover shell sized to fit over the base shell and including a planar top wall, two opposite side walls and a rear end hingely connected to a rear end of the base shell. The cover shell is pivotable between an open position away from the base shell for opening the case and a close position against the base shell for closing the case. A locking mechanism is provided to releasably lock the cover shell in the close position. The case further comprises a biasing means adapted to cooperate with the locking mechanism for biasingly popping up the cover shell in the open position as the locking mechanism is released. The biasing means is characterized in that it comprises at least one elongated torsion spring element, preferably a pair, associated with a corresponding side wall of the cover shell and extending inside the base shell along the rear end thereof. The torsion element is hingely connecting the side wall of the cover shell to the rear end of the base shell. The torsion element comprises a first end portion secured to the corresponding side wall of the cover shell. That first end portion is thereby movable with the cover shell. A second end portion of the torsion element is immobilized along the rear end of the base shell. The torsion element further comprises a twistable central portion extending between the first end and the second end portion and disposed such that it is twisted as the cover shell is locked in the lock position and relaxed as the cover shell is in the torsion position, thereby popping up the cover shell when it is unlocked.
Advantageously the case according to the present invention which is part of a ferocious market combines simplicity and inexpensiveness to manufacture with durability and trouble-free in operation.